Researching Colleges

 

Recommended Web resources:

Our favorites:

  • Collegeboard’s Big Future - Our favorite starting point to learn the basics about campuses.

  • Naviance - if your high school offers this online service, which draws from and mimics information from CollegeBoard’s Big Future.

  • The Princeton Review - What we most love about this site is access to college write ups equivalent to the guidebook, "The Best ### Colleges" (described below). It’s worthwhile to start an account for access to these writings; then simply unsubscribe to advertising emails.

  • www.2calstate.edu - Best resource for researching all CSU campuses

  • University of California - explore UC campuses and majors

  • CaliforniaColleges.edu - Research ALL California 2 & 4 year colleges, excellent locator map and CSU campus information

  • Niche - college reviews by students, which really get into campus “vibe” descriptions. It’s a fun way for students to learn more; just be sure to take descriptions with a grain of salt and maintain a bit of skepticism about insights being truth.

  • CollegeWeek Live is an excellent resource for an online college fair and discussions with admission reps. Also offers video webcasts about student life at various college campuses.

  • College Confidential is one we recommend avoiding, as there is much mis-information posted.

  • Fairtest - Lists of colleges with test-flexible admission policies.

For people who love data:

  • College Scorecard - With campus statistics: graduation rates, salary after attending and how each compares nationally, as well as financial aid statistics: typical total debt, typical monthly loan payment, and percentage of students who pay debt down compared to national average.

  • College Navigator - By the National Center for Educational Statistics, the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States. Excellent college search and comparison tools.

  • College Results Online - for people who love data: graduation rates for nearly any 4-year college or university. See how grad rates have changed over time and compare graduation rates of similar colleges serving similar students. Use the "Advanced Search" to compare graduation rates for a group of colleges that you select.

 

Our favorite College Guidebooks:

These are excellent resources for non-biased campus information.

  • Fiske Guide To Colleges (by Edward B Fiske)

  • The Best ### Colleges (by The Princeton Review)
    Or save money by using their website at www.princetonreview.com

  • Colleges that Change Lives: 40 Colleges That Will Change The Way You Think About College, (by Loren Pope) (CTCL website link)

  • Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers
    (by Elaina Loveland)

  • The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or ADD/ADHD
    (by Marybeth Kravets, MA, and Imy F. Wax, MS for The Princeton Review)